It is sometimes asked how we can know or judge how we are doing in living the faith. That question reflects the mystery that is every human person.

 

Until the moment of judgement, even the depths of our own hearts are at least partially hidden from us. Our struggle between living in virtue and falling into sin is constant. So too is the mystery of our experience of temptation, which is not sinful in itself, and the commission of sin that involves willfully opposing God’s will.

 

In light of this, we keep our eyes on Christ and His will in all that we do. We are people of hope because we have been given the truth and the sacraments to strengthen us and guide our way. But we are also tempted to deceive ourselves, to be slow or weak in turning away from our sins and back to God. How then are we to know how we are doing spiritually? 

 

Jesus has given us good counsel in this regard. “By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.” (Mt 7, 16-20).

 

Jesus was speaking of how to identify true and false prophets when He said this. But applied to ourselves, the principle still applies. What kind of spiritual fruits do we demonstrate in our lives?

These fruits, good or bad, can be manifested in large and important moments and deeds. Murder, theft, adultery, abortion or abuse of the poor are clearly not indications of walking in the footsteps of Jesus. Such actions contaminate the world and our souls. 

 

Similarly, living in a way that respects and aids the lives of others, showing forth honesty and justice and care for the poor, these fruits put our belief into action. They do not allow faith to be simply an abstraction.

 

For most people, the struggle to live a holy life plays out on a more mundane level. Smaller challenges as part of daily existence are part of the spiritual fruits of our lives that typically appear before the responses to great challenges.

 

In that light, St. Paul, writing to the Ephesians reminds us of how we should be seen as people of faith. “No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear. … All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” (Ep 2: 29-32).

 

St. Paul could have been writing to our society today. Isn’t it astonishing and painful to hear the amount of vulgar language in our entertainment, among our elites, and in everyday conversation? Such language hardens the heart and darkens the goodness within us. 

 

So too, our time is marked by an intensity of holding grudges, by anger and by insults. How can goodness and forgiveness come forward when we spend our energy on these fruits?

 

But as people of faith we can live the kindness, compassion and forgiveness that Paul urged upon the Ephesians. Our lived example, drawn from our faith, can keep us from falling into sin and away from Christ. We can bring peace in the midst of the anger of others and be a sign that in Jesus there is a better way.

 

By our fruits we shall be known. Let’s make sure they are good fruits to be offered to God in return for His goodness to us.